Buying a sewing machine: what should you keep in mind?

Dear users, dear authors,
do you have any tips and tricks for buying a sewing machine?

Go to a local specialty store, take your time looking at the machines, get good advice, try sewing on them, and listen to what the sewing machine tells you—because I always say a sewing machine talks to you, :-)
Think about what you want to do with the machine. If you just want to hem something or mend a hole in your pants, you don’t need a machine that costs a few thousand euros—one in the lower-to-mid price range will do just fine. If you want to do more, you should get one that can handle the strain of a sewing marathon ;-) :-) Above all, don’t let a salesperson talk you into buying a machine just because it might be a so-called “slow-moving item.” It’s best to bring someone along who knows something about sewing machines.

I bought a sewing machine just under two years ago, and I have to say that it’s really hard for a beginner to pick the right model. Even if you do some research online beforehand, read books on the subject, or watch videos—you still can’t really tell which of the advertised features you actually need.

I also went to a specialty sewing machine store. But everything there seemed geared more toward people who already know how to sew. The salespeople weren’t very accommodating toward me as a beginner, and they didn’t even have any beginner-friendly sewing machines in stock. Instead, they touted their high-end electronic sewing machines that do practically everything on their own. But first of all, those were way too expensive for me, and second, they weren’t right for me. I wanted to take it slow and start small.

Anyway, I ended up choosing one online, mainly because of the feature that lets you adjust the sewing speed. As a beginner, it was important to me that it didn’t just start rattling away right away, but that I could feed the fabric slowly. I still really like this feature and wouldn’t want to be without it. If you sew a lot or, like Akela, are a sewing pro, you’ll have different needs, and you might end up with more than one sewing machine. One machine excels at one thing, while another excels at something else.

Best regards—Ina

You can adjust the speed of sewing machines using the foot pedal—it’s just like driving a car: the more you press the pedal, the faster it goes :-) Of course, it takes some practice—no question about it.

I think that, especially as a beginner, you need a machine that’s as simple as possible with just a few basic stitches. You’ll only need all those bells and whistles with x decorative stitches once at most (namely at the very beginning when you’re trying things out😉). After all, you have to see first how often you actually use the machine. And once you’ve gained some experience and are sewing a lot, you’ll know how to appreciate and make the most of an expensive, complicated machine. 

I’m pretty much a beginner when it comes to sewing machines.
I got a taste for it through my work program at Bad Kösen Plush Toys back then, because I was allowed to sew there on the company’s sewing machine.
After that, I bought one for home—a simple one (not too expensive, but not too cheap either). Until I ordered a new one here two years ago (the old one was broken and wouldn’t sew anymore).

I have a Si.... with a foot pedal, various stitch types (straight, zigzag), and a dial you can adjust (push in and pull out) to wind the bobbin. You can adjust the thread tension and stitch length.
I’d done some research online beforehand, watching videos to figure out which machine would be easy to use.
Mostly I just sew straight edges, sometimes hem something or make little doll clothes, and I sewed the top of my curtain to fit the rod.
A long time ago, I sewed myself a blouse from an old nightgown—even with buttonholes—because I wanted to try it out, and it worked.
There are different “presser feet,” but I haven’t figured out how to use them all yet. I haven’t done any sewing in a long time.

It wasn’t until I got a new machine that I realized sewing can actually be fun.
I always had problems with the old one—nothing worked the way it was supposed to... I’d seen it on sale in a catalog, didn’t do any research—it had a brand name on it, so I figured it would be okay—well, yeah....

A friend who knows his way around sewing machines checked it over for me and told me everything was fine—so I put it away because I just couldn’t figure it out and was done with it.

Eventually, I got the urge to sew again and started “asking around” in forums to find out which brands were supposed to be good—there were lots of opinions, lots of price ranges, and a whole bunch of different requirements. So I wasn’t really any closer to a decision.
Eventually, my husband just ordered a machine online from a brand I’d often read about there, and it’s working really well now. I think it was just a lucky find—I never really had a specific machine in mind.

You need experience to know what you want to do, which is why it’s really hard for a beginner to decide—at least that’s my opinion.